Happy Birthday to me!

About a week before my birthday every year I go into ‘reflection-mode’. I start considering the probability of my parents meeting, of that turning into a long-term relationship and the chances of that lasting long enough to result in offspring. I mean, look at the luck I’m having here – and I’m not even a ginger like my dad.

Then I start thinking about the fact that I’m the result of the fusion of one particular egg with one particular sperm.

Then I start thinking about the supremely unlikely and utterly undeniable chain of events that led up to my existence. All of my ancestors lived to reproductive age - going all the way back to Adam and Eve… (working in some theology there).

When I start thinking about the probability of all of my ancestors meeting and all of their sperm-meets-egg odds. Think about this, if even once the wrong sperm met the wrong egg, I would not be sitting here. In fact, some scientists estimate the probability of your being born at about one in 400 trillion.

One in 400 trillion.

Therefore, I reckon birthdays are definitely a day worth celebrating. You were the size of a watermelon (well, I was at 3.36kg) and you made your way out of an opening the size of an orange and you arrived into the world. At that very moment you changed the entire world, because you altered the dynamic of your family and your community and your city and your country and our world. That makes you pretty significant, as far as I’m concerned.

I entered the world on Monday, the 15^th of June 1987 at 15:10 afternoon which will make me 26 tomorrow.

 

On my very first birthday

My date with #6

I finally had a date with Number 6! I say finally because we were introduced two weeks back. After the initial phone call and checking of schedules, we agreed to meet in the next week, but we didn’t set a date. A week later, after not hearing anything from him, I sent a message to try and fix a date.

Our schedules just didn’t seem to line up. I spent last weekend in Thabazimbi with a friend at a real boere Wildsfees and we even saw a contestant  from the Boer soek ‘n Vrou show who entered last year… I’m taking this as a good sign.

Anyway, back to my date. The only time that suited him was on Tuesday evening. I was writing my first exam on Wednesday, but I thought ‘we really need to get this date going’. We agreed to meet at a coffee shop at 20:00. I pitch at the coffee shop at 19:55. At 20:05, at the risk of looking like my date had stood me up I go into the bookstore next door… Browsing…browsing… buying a book…ordering my own hot chocolate…reading my book…

At 20:18 I get a message from Number 6 that he is in fact in the bookstore. And then I see him.

Since he doesn’t have a Facebook account I had to go on his WhatsApp profile picture which is a ‘professional’ photograph. You know the photo where a man leans against a wall, hands in his pockets and stares longingly into the distance… My friend said he probably had make-up on as she noticed the discolouration comparing his face, ears and arms. Ha! I thought that was hilarious. He was not that bad. Hell, I even had a gay friend say ‘Oh, he’s cuuuuute’.

 

This is not Number 6... unfortunately!

My brief aan Fanie

Die inskrywingsdatum vir Boer soek 'n Vrou is verby en my brief is in. Yeah! Nou is dit net die gewag tot 25 Junie om te hoor of ek as een van die 10 meisies is wat deurgaan om my gekose boer te ontmoet - as hy ooit een van die top 5 boere is! Die reëls het my toe gekeer om aan 4 boere te skryf - jy mag net vir EEN boer inskryf en toe het ek maar my gut instinct vertrou en vir Fanie geskryf. Hy is tog so oulik met daai aksent en van almal het hy regtig eerste my oog gevang.

Die hele proses om in te skryf was soveel pret dat ek nie eers hartseer sal wees as ek nie een van die 10 meisies is nie! Die photoshoot sessie was ongelooflik vreemd omdat ek nie regtig 'n meisie is wat hou van 'n poseer en tittewyt nie. Dit is darem voorafgegaan deur 'n lekker sessie in die winkels, 'n afspraak by die haarsalon en ek het selfs my grimering laat doen! Ha! My foto's moes ek ongelukkig self edit - moenie 'n fotograaf vertrou wat jou R200 vra nie. Ek was in 'n toestand daaroor. Goeie nuus is dat ek darem nou 'n nuwe kiekie het vir my blog! Yeah!

Die pakkie opmaak was 'n fees! Ek het toe nie my beskuit bak vermoëns vertrou nie en eerder op twee oulike 'geskenkies' afgekom. 'n Sakkie lang vuurhoutjies vir braai en 'n bietjie 'Holbrandkerrie'. Ha! Ek het gedink dis nou die ideale ding om my sin vir humor ten toon te stel.  Ek dink my pakkie het heel oulik gelyk - dit gaan definitief nie terugstaan vir die ander meisies se pakkies nie. Daar word moeite gedoen, hoor! Dis nie net so eenvoudig soos om op 'n gewone exam pad iets neer te griffel nie en in 'n bruin koevert te stop nie.

My brief... hierdie een was rof! Ek het 'n hele naweek gevat om dit te skryf en toe nogsteeds elke dag bietjie verander. Ek het van 7 bladsye af verkort - ek wou my hele lewensverhaal vir die arme man stuur. Dit was 'n moeilike storie om so vir iemand te skryf wie jy nie ken nie en dit voel regtig met tye soos 'n dating CV. Die skryf van die brief het my laat dink, my laat kyk na my eie lewe en my uitgedaag om my 'kern' op te som. Ek wou nie een van daardie meisies wees wat die tipiese 'ek is avontuurlustig, ek hou van reis en lang stappies op die strand' briewe skryf nie. Ek wou uitbrei. Ek wou gehad het my persoonlikheid moes duidelik deurkom. Ek dink ek het dit dalk reg gekry.

Hoe fraai lyk my pakkie nie? Ek is maar een vir nostalgie - so, ek het my brief met die hand oorgeskryf, parfuum gespuit en dit met 'n lintjie toegedraai.

Hier onder is my brief wat ek aan Fanie geskryf het. Ek het ook 4 'professionele' foto's gestuur en 4 'Polaroid' foto's sodat ou Fanie darem kon sien dat dit wat ek in my brief geskryf het,  waar is.

Hou vir my duimvas!